Columbus Blue Jackets fall short in return home vs Carolina Hurricanes: 4 takeaways
In their return home, things did not get easier for the Blue Jackets.
One day after two empty-net scores defined what looked, on paper, like a decisive road loss to the New York Rangers, the Blue Jackets returned to Nationwide Arena for a date with the Carolina Hurricanes, the team that sits immediately behind the first-place Rangers in the Metropolitan division.
In the second game of a back-to-back, it was another opportunity for the Jackets to see where they stacked up. And Columbus (19-30-10) fell short again, losing to the Hurricanes (36-18-6) by a final score of 4-2.
"They just play a very direct game," Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson said. "I think they are the best in the league at playing that simple, direct game that we all talk about. The puck’s coming to the net, guys coming to the net. It’s a battle every single time to win the next battle."
Cole Sillinger scored his second goal in as many games. His tally was assisted by Zach Werenski and Alex Nylander. Nylander followed in the third period with his first goal in a Blue Jackets uniform off passes from Boone Jenner and Jack Roslovic on a power play.
Three second-period scores by Teuvo Teravainen, Sebastian Aho and Brady Skjei proved enough for the Hurricanes. They added a Seth Jarvis empty-net goal late in the third.
The Blue Jackets, who will face the Chicago Blackhawks on the road Saturday, have not beaten the Hurricanes since Jan. 7, 2023.
Here are four takeaways from the Blue Jackets' loss to the Hurricanes
Cole Sillinger, Alex Nylander line continues groove despite losing Kent Johnson
Coach Pascal Vincent thought Kent Johnson was playing his best hockey before he suffered an unspecified upper-body injury.
Johnson’s line with Nylander and Sillinger was the most productive line in the Blue Jackets’ 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers Wednesday, recording six shots when they were on the ice compared to the Rangers’ three.
“I thought KJ was making plays,” Vincent said. “He was playing with pace, and it was one of his best games in a long time.”
Even with Johnson sidelined indefinitely, Sillinger and Nylander still led the most effective line for the Blue Jackets Thursday night.
With Alexandre Texier in Johnson’s place, that line was responsible for the team’s first score of the game, Sillinger's goal.
No other Blue Jackets line came close to the 17 combined offensive chances Texier, Sillinger and Nylander had. This includes the top line of Johnny Gaudreau, Boone Jenner and Jack Roslovic, on which the Hurricanes scored two of their four goals.
Vincent said Nylander is "playing really well" and Sillinger remained strong Thursday night. In Johnson's absence, Texier, Vincent said, competed hard.
But Vincent did not feel the Blue Jackets took advantage of every opportunity offensively against a consistent forecheck that gives teams around the league issues.
"It’s the way they transition the puck," Vincent said. "There’s a lot of rims. They play the board game quite a bit. And they got some speed. When you look at their lineup, two words that come up very often are they skate and they compete. It’s part of the makeup of their team."
While the team may have caught a break with Gaudreau, who left the second period of Wednesday’s game after getting “clotheslined with my own stick,” Johnson has joined a long list of unavailable Blue Jackets that also includes Patrik Laine (player assistance program) and Adam Fantilli (lacerated calf).
But the combination of Sillinger and Nylander could be finding an offensive groove anyway.
"Once we have the puck, we know what we can do with it," Nylander said. "We’re all really skilled players and we both like to make plays and you’re getting goals. So the mindset is just going in there and working as hard as we can to get the puck and then we go from there."
Alex Nylander scores first Blue Jackets goal
All Nylander wanted was a chance.
It was not a chance he often had with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Thursday's goal was Nylander's first since April 8, 2023, when he was one of five Penguins to score against the Detroit Red Wings.
"I’m getting an opportunity here, and I just go to be ready, and ready to take it," Nylander said. "I mean, it’s huge for me and I just have to keep working hard every day here."
Daniil Tarasov falls short in relief of Elvis Merzlikins
Elvis Merzlikins did his job against the Rangers.
After allowing two goals on two shot attempts in four minutes of relief work against the Anaheim Ducks on Feb. 24, Merzlikins saved 64 of 68 shots. On Wednesday, he stopped 26 of 28 shots including 17 in the first period alone, which Vincent called “outstanding” and the product of a confident performance.
On Thursday, Merzlikins had the day off. It was Daniil Tarasov’s turn.
Coming in with three losses in his past four starts – despite a 35-save performance against the Buffalo Sabres Feb. 23 – Tarasov stood strong, saving each of the Hurricanes' first seven shots on goal in the first 20 minutes.
But seconds into the second period, a Blue Jackets mistake broke the seal. Teravainen stepped in front of an errant pass from defenseman Damon Severson, adjusted the puck and fired to Tarasov’s left for the score.
It was one of three second-period scores, not including a goal negated after an offsides call, on 12 shots.
In the second period, Gudbranson said the Blue Jackets lost momentum and "stepped off the gas pedal" after a scoreless first.
Tarasov finished with 30 saves on 33 shots.
How did Spencer Martin do in his return to Columbus?
The Blue Jackets saw a familiar face in the Hurricanes’ net Thursday night.
Spencer Martin, who played in 13 games for the Blue Jackets in 2023-24, made his fifth start for the Hurricanes Thursday, stopping 20 of the Blue Jackets' 22 shots.
Martin was claimed off waivers by the Hurricanes in January after posting a 3-8-1 record with the Blue Jackets with a .888 save percentage.
In his first four games with the Hurricanes, Martin saved 99 of 107 shots.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets fall short in return home vs Carolina Hurricanes
